How to run 4000km with a brain tumor
A terminal cancer diagnosis made Jack Faint reassess his whole life. Now he’s running the length of India to show everyone what the human body can do.
What would you do if you were diagnosed with terminal cancer? How far would you go to make the most of your remaining time? How much of your life would you change? What would you do?
Jack Faint was a 25-year-old party animal living in the moment and only in the moment when he found out that he had an oligodendroglioma, a rare, slow-growing brain tumor that caused the seizure that landed him in hospital in 2019.
His adventurous streak had already taken him from Northwich, Cheshire, in the north of England to Melbourne, Australia. When that seizure caused Jack to fall off his bike, he was just about to up sticks again for a year-long adventure through South America and India. Cancer, however, was truly a step into the unknown.
When the neurosurgeon gave him the three options of removing the tumor, watching and waiting, or taking a biopsy to get to know the genetic makeup of it, Jack asked her one question: “What would you do?”
That’s what so many parts of Jack’s fascinating story boils down to. What would you do? There’s no right answer, is there? Everyone’s going to make their own choices based on their own knowledge and instincts. At this point, Jack chose a biopsy and learned that the tumor would continue to grow over the next 10-plus years. He was essentially given 15-20 years to live. So he decided to do that. He decided to live.
I met with Jack as he was preparing to be the first person to ever run the 4000km of India from the northernmost point to the southern tip.
Why India?
The surgeon also suggested a “full holistic lifestyle change.” For Jack that meant stopping drinking, smoking and doing drugs four times a week, as well as moving to a plant-based organic diet. She suggested he start meditating, and he did.
“The South America trip was the first time I learned to be in my own thoughts. Prior to that, I had very little space in my own skin to really understand who I was. I know people go traveling to find themselves, but it really was that.”
“It was about figuring out who I wanted to be, but – in the face of a terminal illness – how could I not just survive, but thrive?”
In a Colombian tree house overlooking the Pacific Ocean, he practiced both yoga and meditation for the very first time. He returned to the UK with ideas for new routines, and had his now-twice-yearly MRI scan before embarking on that trip to India, which would spark a revolution in his thinking.
“It was a turbo boost of transformation. It was truly learning that happiness doesn’t come from the external. I met people that had such little material wealth, but were the happiest people I’ve ever met. It was an awakening.”
In India, Jack spent time in ashrams (Hindu spiritual communities), and meditation became a key pillar of his daily activities. His outlook changed from hedonism that bordered on the nihilistic to an ultimate goal of “staying joyful, staying grateful, and staying present.”
It’s a lesson, perhaps, that many of us think about learning. Tellingly, it took a seismic event in Jack’s life to get there.
About the expedition
Jack’s goal is to be the first person in history to run the 4,000 km (2,500 miles) that make up the length of India in just 80 days. Yes, simple maths tells us that’s an ultramarathon a day.
This isn’t Jack’s first ultra, of course. It started during the pandemic, when he joined a gym buddy in the 4x4x48 challenge created by David Goggins. The $15,000 they raised for charity (a similar story to how Venice Run Club started) was inspiring.
He soon ran the London Marathon, and after picking up a copy of Chris McDougall’s Born to Run in a healing clinic in Sri Lanka, immediately booked himself into the first 50-mile race he could attend. A 120 km race across the Azores and a 250 km race across the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan followed in 2023.
Then, in May 2024, Jack ran 650km in 14 days across South Africa from Cape Town to Nature’s Valley as a test for this expedition. Now he knew he could do it, so he started to plan. He put together a tight-knit team of friends that wanted to be a part of Jack’s journey. With skills in logistics, fitness, nutrition, and storytelling, it was an A-Team for helping Jack run an incredible distance. They were ready.
Jack and crew started at the northern tip in the Siachen Glacier in the eastern Karakorem Range of the Himalayas, on the border of India, Pakistan, and China. The first 860 km were between 3,300-5,500 meters (10,800-16400 ft) of elevation with 13,000 m (42,600 ft) of elevation gain in just 17 days. That added another layer of difficulty to the challenge, but there have been so many of these cross-continental challenges recently.
Russ ‘The Hardest Geezer’ Cook running 10,000 km across the length of Africa
Hercules Nicolaou running 400 km across Cyprus
Deo Kato also running the length of Africa but then finishing in London
William Goodge running the width of Australia
Jack Faint running the length of India
It can feel difficult to keep up with the latest superhuman feat, but running to raise money for charity or give people hope and inspiration is worthy of attention. Taking on this challenge while having a brain tumor fits into Jack’s new outlook on life, making the most of the time he has left for both himself and others.
“A lot of it is focused around external impact: helping other people. It’s wonderful getting messages of how much I’ve helped people, and that feeling that I am having a positive contribution. That gives an element of satisfaction and joy.”
“The big one for me is the sense of adventure. I’m very acutely aware that time is precious. I’ve always loved an adventure, and I’ve been very fortunate to have gone on a lot, and deep down I know that this is going to be one of the best.”
An alternative way of thinking
How has it been for his family and friends? They are also aware of the limited time that they have with their loved one.
“I almost think it’s harder for the people around me. It’s obviously very difficult for them when I’m electing to go on meditation retreats rather than having surgery.”
“There are neurosurgeons that have recommended surgery for a number of years, but there are many things that I’ve learnt on this journey, and one of those is that we all have a capacity to heal. I’ve been laser-focused on that.”
Jack has been booked in for surgery to remove his brain tumor twice, and both times he decided not to go through with it. With no symptoms affecting his daily life and a 50% risk of visual impairment as the surgeons operate so close to the optic nerve, it’s not difficult to understand that decision.
Jack admits that it’s “difficult for people to get their head around,” but what would you do? A brain surgery that could radically, negatively impact the quality of your remaining years? Or find internal peace over your remaining years by exploring 4,000 km of India and inspiring countless others in the same horrible situation?
“The reason why I‘m doing it is the adventure that I’m about to have and the impact that it can have on a lot of people that might also be going through something hard that need to see some light at the end of it.”
It would’ve been easy for Jack to fall into a pit of depression after his cancer diagnosis, but he transformed that pain into purpose by telling this story of hope and possibility. It’s fair to say that Jack Faint is not only surviving, but has truly figured out how to thrive.
I spoke to Jack back in July, and he’s over halfway through his journey now, on Day 37, and is expecting to finish in 70 days rather than the 80 they’d projected. That’s pretty amazing.
If you want to follow along the rest of Jack’s journey through India, you can find him on Instagram and donate to either his logistics or the charities he’s raising money for.
I’ve written about all the kit that Jack’s wearing across India
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Thanks for reading,
Raz x
Incredibly rad/sad story – props to him. I don't think any of us truly know how we would react to receiving similar news. Nor should we judge anyone's way of dealing with it – whether that's doing something wild or the pit of despair – both are valid.
My husband was diagnosed with the same type of tumor at the same age and although he chose to have the surgery to remove it, he spent the next 13 years living life to the fullest. I truly wish the best outcome for Jack and hope his adventures exceed his wildest dreams.